Divided We Fall
by Clez
Summary: What will the team do when a serious problem arrises that threatens to tear them apart? : Oh, it is an AU story though. Enjoy, and please R&R. Thanks :
1. The Early Birds

THE EARLY BIRDS.  
  
  
  
With a yawn, she stepped out of her room, sliding the door closed behind her, and was soon taken into a morning embrace by a tall handsome man.  
  
She laughed quietly, looking up into the soulful brown eyes of Brennan Mulwray. He was feeling mischievous, she could tell, just by the look on his face. He was wearing an idiotic grin, and hopped slightly on his toes.  
  
"Good morning," she said to him, roughing up his hair, having to stretch to reach.  
  
He picked her up, and spun her round once, setting her down gently again onto the clean floor, replying, "Good morning to you."  
  
She giggled. "What's wrong with you?"  
  
"Whadda you mean?" he asked, running a finger down her cheek.  
  
Claire Marlow smiled, and said, "You're awfully playful."  
  
He cocked his head, and bit his lip gently. "Well, I just missed you, that's all."  
  
She rolled her eyes. "But we only saw each other last night."  
  
He grinned again, and then pulled a puppy-dog face. "But I still missed you." He seemed to notice for the first time that she was dressed in a bathrobe. "What're you doing?"  
  
"I'm going to take a shower, if that's okay with you?" she replied, kissing him quickly, stepping around him with ease, despite his effort to block her way.  
  
Claire walked away from the playful Brennan, who simply watcher her go longingly. He got like that in the morning, mostly. It was usually after a fight the previous night, which hadn't happened in while, so she was puzzled as to why he was acting so strangely.  
  
As she passed the dining area, she noticed Natasha Jackman and Jesse Kilmartin eating breaking together, conversing quietly, Jesse's hand on Natasha's knee gently. She leaned over and kissed him softly, and then returned to her breakfast.  
  
She carried on her way without interrupting the two lovers, and went to take her morning shower.  
  
* * *  
  
Shalimar Fox stretched, bouncing down the steps from the training area, in her workout clothes, ready for some nourishment. She realised she could go for a glass of milk, and smiled when she realised just how feline of her that was. She strolled lightly towards the kitchen.  
  
"Morning, Shal'," a cheery voice called to her from the dining area, and she turned to see a rather tousled Jesse, just out of bed from the look of it. Next to him, seated comfortably on one of their cushions, was Natty, already cleaned and dressed. Apparently, she had woken Jesse after sitting up for quite some time. The molecular still looked quite sleepy, but the psionic was wide awake, and smiling happily.  
  
"Morning, you two," Shalimar replied just as cheerily, and passed by on her way to collect her glass of milk.  
  
She soon returned, holding a tall glass, half filled with fresh cold white milk. She walked over to the low table, and looked down at the two patiently, until Jesse noticed her once again.  
  
"Oh," he said suddenly, and indicated the seat opposite them.  
  
She sat cross-legged, and sipped her milk, watching the two laugh and whisper into each other's ears.  
  
She cleared her throat ever so gently, and looked at her sneakers, simply observing something other than the two lovers.  
  
They had been inseparable ever since Natty had joined their ranks, which had been just over two months ago, after they had rescued her from Genomex, and the evil clutches of Mason Eckhart.  
  
"Sleep well?" Jesse asked her, taking a break from Natty as the young woman cleared up their breakfast cutlery.  
  
Shalimar looked up immediately, and smiled politely. "Like a baby."  
  
He nodded in acknowledgement, and quickly accepted the warm mug of coffee from Natty when she returned.  
  
"Morning guys!" came a happy voice, and Emma deLauro walked up to them, and seated herself.  
  
Shalimar smiled in reply, nodding, sipping her cool milk again, and finding it refreshing.  
  
The only ones missing now were Brennan and Claire. Obviously Adam was absent, but he was probably in the lab, working on some DNA samples, or looking up another New Mutant like he usually did. He never took a rest.  
  
* * *  
  
Adam looked up from his test tube, and smiled. He decided it was time for a cup of coffee, and exited the laboratory, heading straight to the kitchen.  
  
On his way, he noticed four members of Mutant X sitting around the dining table. Only the elementals, Brennan and Claire, were missing, and he found himself curious as to their whereabouts.  
  
Brennan was probably still asleep, he realised, remembering how much the male elemental adored his sleep.  
  
He started quite violently when he entered the spotless kitchen to find Brennan Mulwray sitting on one of the marble counters.  
  
"Brennan, you scared me," Adam said with a slight smile.  
  
Brennan looked up from his mug of steaming coffee, and smiled at the corner of his mouth.  
  
"Is something wrong?" Adam asked, crossing to Brennan, and leaning against the counter himself.  
  
Brennan glanced to him again, and laughed gently. "Nah, I'm just tired." He rubbed his eyes, confirming his own explanation.  
  
"Okay," Adam acknowledged, and poured himself some coffee from the percolator.  
  
"Where's Claire?" Adam asked then, looking around to see if the other elemental was concealed somewhere in the corner. The elementals of Mutant X were probably the most likely to pull practical jokes on just about any of the others, including Adam. Harmless fun really, nothing dangerous or too extreme.  
  
"She's takin' a shower," Brennan explained, and sipped his coffee. He set the mug down, and started to play absent-mindedly with one of his bracelets on his wrist, clearly having nothing better to do with his time.  
  
Adam nodded, and left Brennan to his thoughts, thinking to himself that something was wrong with the tall man. But as to what that was, Adam was clueless. He had no way of telling whether or not Brennan really was just tired, or whether something more serious was bothering him.  
  
Adam realised suddenly that he was probably just worrying too much, and that there was nothing to worry about. What could possibly be wrong with Brennan?  
  
But if the problem persisted, Adam decided he should ask Emma for some assistance in finding out the real problem. 


	2. Deadly Denial

DEADLY DENIAL  
  
  
  
Shelley Martins sat at her dining table, twiddling her thumbs subconsciously. There was nothing better for her to do.  
  
Out of sheer boredom, she focused on her cold mug of coffee, and concentrated hard. It started to steam again. She smiled wanly.  
  
Usually, using her tricks, as she called them, made her happy, to some extent. After all, what was so great about being a freak?  
  
You're not a freak, she told herself sternly inside her head, and stared out of her grimy eleventh floor window, seeing a solitary pigeon flutter past clumsily.  
  
She sighed heavily, and looked to the door, and then stared at her wall clock. It was a quarter to four.  
  
He had been missing for nearly two days now. Where the hell was he? She was getting impatient, and more than a little worried.  
  
Gerald Elliot was her best friend, and she had trusted him with any secret she had ever had. He was the same with her. Anything that was bothering them could just be brought out in the open for two friends to share.  
  
So it had always been, and still was. Or so she thought. Was there something he wasn't telling her lately?  
  
When they had both learned they were equally strange and unique, their bond had grown stronger, and due to the fiery aspect of their 'tricks' and talents, Shelley felt that this occurrence had made their bond stronger.  
  
"So where is he?" she mumbled impatiently. Her brow furrowed in puzzlement, and she drummed her fingers on the tabletop.  
  
Just then, she heard the rattle of keys in the lock to their apartment.  
  
She stood from her chair, and stared anxiously at the door, which soon flew open rather wildly.  
  
Standing on the threshold was a rather irritated looking, and rather jumpy, Gerald Elliot. His black hair was a mess, styled into spikes all over his skull. His green eyes stared at the opened door blankly, sending a slight chill down Shelley's spine.  
  
What was wrong with him?  
  
He was probably just unwell.  
  
"Gerald? Where have you been?" she asked, moving from behind the table, and in front of her long-life friend.  
  
His eyes snapped in her direction then, making her start quietly. It was the fierce look that he gave her that made her jump, and she frowned.  
  
"What's wrong? You look-"  
  
"I'm fine," he interrupted, something he had never made a habit of.  
  
She frowned deeper, and sat down again, watching as he shut the door a little too violently, and crossed to the couch, sitting down heavily and running strong hands through his hair.  
  
Shelley watched for about five minutes, seeing a different array of emotions scatter over the young face. From anger to intrigue, he showed it all as he glanced around at various objects.  
  
"Gerald?" she said again.  
  
There it was again. That look.  
  
His eyes bore through into the very core of her being, and she shuddered. He had never scared her before. Never.  
  
"What's wrong?" she asked in a small voice, finally convinced that Gerald was not himself.  
  
After being missing for two days, and then returning without an explanation, Shelley was more than a little concerned. Especially since he was acting just a tiny bit. scary.  
  
"Nothing's wrong, goddamn!" he exclaimed, shooting out of the chair. He was breathing heavily, and his eyes were crazy. "Why has there always got to be something wrong when I'm around you? Everybody's ill, or upset, apart from you." He paused, the atmosphere in the room taking a more sinister edge. "Ever wonder why everyone's always so miserable around you, Shelley, huh?"  
  
His words tore into her like knives, and she hung her head sadly, hiding the tears that welled. Why was he being so cruel?  
  
"Maybe," he began, laughing maniacally for a moment, "it's because you're such a negative person to be around. You have this whole pessimistic air about you, Shelley, and it sucks people in. I only stuck around because I felt sorry for you all these years!" His voice was harsh, grinding and hard to bear all of a sudden.  
  
Shelley sobbed quietly. Never, in her nineteen years of knowing him, had she seen him act so offensive towards her, or anyone for that matter.  
  
"Oh, quit crying you big baby. You're always so upset over the smallest things. The truth finally hits you, and 'Wah, it's the end of the world'." He walked over, slamming his palms on the table, yelling, "Wake up! It's not all sunshine and daisies, princess! Look at yourself. You're pathetic. and a waste of my time."  
  
She looked up with a start when she heard the crackling, and she gasped in shock when she saw the ball of flames burst into life in his palm, dancing like a gleeful child.  
  
He grinned sadistically, and launched the ball towards her.  
  
She felt it catch on her clothes and hair, scolding her skin immediately. She screamed in agony, and waved her arms to try desperately to put out the hot flames.  
  
She heard Gerald laugh, and she screamed for him to help her.  
  
He did not.  
  
Instead, he turned his back on her, and walked away, shutting the door calmly behind him.  
  
Helpless to stop the flames, Shelley collapsed to the floor, burning.  
  
Before anyone had even heard the smoke alarm, Shelley Martins had been dead for a while, and taken all of her belongings with her in a horrific blaze. 


	3. Revelations

REVELATIONS  
  
  
  
"So, Adam, how far are we from the location?" Shalimar asked discreetly into her commring, looking down a long road as the trio came to a crossroads.  
  
Emma was looking around quizzically, trying to ascertain the fact for herself. She was wearing her long faded denim coat that brushed around her shins, tickling her boots.  
  
Natty stood to the opposite side of Shalimar, patiently awaiting the answer, standing up straight, her red-streaked hair spiking gently outwards from her face.  
  
"Well, it should be just around the next corner. There might be police, so be careful," Adam told them through the ring, his voice carrying to each of them perfectly. "You can't miss it."  
  
"Thanks, Adam," Shalimar ended, and lowered her hand to her side, clad almost completely in leather. Men gave her pleading stares as they passed, and she simply smiled wanly at them, informing them that she was not interested. They skulked off miserably, on their way to wherever they were needed.  
  
She led the way to the location Adam had designated, and soon, they ducked behind a wall, confronted with the problem of how they were to sneak past the collection of police officers.  
  
Shalimar glanced skyward confidently, and ducked further into the alleyway, prepping herself for the leap.  
  
Emma and Natty simply watched from a distance as the feral launched herself upward with ease, catching hold of a balcony. She climbed over it effortlessly, and entered the apartment carefully.  
  
Emma turned to Natty, and said, "Follow my lead. Don't worry about a thing." With that, she closed her eyes briefly, and then opened them suddenly, looking to the policemen, and striding confidently out onto the street.  
  
They all immediately stood to attention, and watched with respect as Emma and Natty walked right into the building, Emma giving them a single nod.  
  
When they had cleared the police, Natty allowed herself a small smile, asking, "What just happened?"  
  
"I made them think we were their commanding officers. Works every time. just about," she laughed, and entered the stairwell.  
  
Natty laughed, and followed her up stairs.  
  
* * *  
  
After eventually finding the right floor, Shalimar had no trouble locating the correct apartment. The smell had assaulted her senses as soon as she stepped out of the stairwell. The smoke had stained the walls, as though the fire had bled into the paintwork, marring it eternally.  
  
The carpet was singed, and she could clearly make out the scorched doorway just mere feet away.  
  
She grimaced, and braced herself. She despised fire, and had been terrified of it ever since she was little.  
  
She edged forward, clearly making out black walls and warped furniture, burned beyond recognition of something other than a shapeless object.  
  
Shalimar, after ducking under the crime scene tape, stepped into the doorway, covering her mouth and nose with her sleeve, horrified at what she surveyed.  
  
Fire had torn through this room, destroying everything it touched without hesitation. It had gutted the room entirely, and every surface was covered thickly with ash and grime. Objects smouldered harmlessly now, no longer a threat to the feral. But still, she wished to flee. This terrified her to the very core of her being.  
  
"Hey," came a gentle voice at the doorway, and she turned to spot Emma and Natty standing there.  
  
"Whoa," Natty mumbled, probably never having seen something so devastating.  
  
"I'm guessing we're in the right place," Emma said quietly, and ducked below the tape, careful not to break it.  
  
Shalimar nodded wordlessly. It was a little hard to form words at the moment, but she knew that, given time, she would find them again.  
  
"Adam?" Emma announced to her ring, glancing around carefully.  
  
"I'm here, Emma," Adam said, and Shalimar could just make out voices in the background. Claire, Brennan and Jesse, probably eager to find out what was going on.  
  
Adam had promised the three they would be next to leave Sanctuary. They had grumbled quietly, especially Brennan, who had already proclaimed his obvious boredom.  
  
"Are you getting all this?" Emma asked, holding her hand out slightly.  
  
"Clearly. That's great, Emma," Adam replied. He was receiving a video link through the ring, and could see just about everything Emma turned her hand towards.  
  
"This was no accident," Natty stated, carefully treading over items that seemed to have once had definite form. They had melted right into the floor just about, and would probably be difficult to remove when a cleanout was finally attempted.  
  
"You got that right," they heard Brennan say loudly.  
  
There was a moment of silence, the three women smiling to themselves. Adam had probably given Brennan a look that had silenced him politely.  
  
"It's definitely the work of a New Mutant," Adam concluded.  
  
"Probably an elemental," Emma added, looking to Shalimar, who smiled weakly to show she was okay.  
  
"Okay, is there anything there that can validate our suspicion?" Adam asked, sounding hopeful, yet still doubtful.  
  
Emma shook her head. "Not a thing that I can see, Adam." She came to a stop by a completely scorched point, where nothing lay anymore.  
  
"Wait," she mumbled, and closed her eyes briefly.  
  
She crouched low, and picked up a blackened item, one that still was whole.  
  
Natty passed her a handkerchief, and Emma proceeded to wipe the item as clean as possible.  
  
"It's a necklace," Emma said in disbelief.  
  
Shalimar's brow furrowed. Had there been a person here?  
  
"There was someone in here when it happened," Emma muttered in horror. She closed her eyes, deep in concentration.  
  
She opened them suddenly with a gasp, clutching the necklace tightly. "It was a woman. A man killed her. her friend. The woman next door heard it all, but was too late to help. She saw the man leave. I can give you a description, Adam."  
  
"Okay, head back to Sanctuary," Adam told them.  
  
Without hesitation, the three women turned and exited the scene. 


	4. Ambush

AMBUSH  
  
  
  
"So, what was the name of this guy again?" Brennan asked inquisitively, stepping out of the MV with Jesse and Claire. His weathered duster fluttered around his legs with the evening breeze, whipping about his combat boots.  
  
Jesse looked back with his youthful sky blue eyes, and smiled. "Do you ever listen to what you're told, Brennan?"  
  
Claire laughed quietly, her leather coat flowing at her ankles gracefully. Her flared beige suede trousers just about covered her brown boots. The snakeskin-patterned top she wore was short, showing off her midriff slightly. Her streaked blonde hair was gently spiked away from her cheeks, bouncing softly as she walked.  
  
"It's not that," Brennan said defensively, "it's just."  
  
"You forgot?" Jesse offered, with a cheeky grin to accompany it.  
  
"Apple polisher," Brennan mumbled.  
  
Claire watched with a smile as Jesse allowed his jaw to drop in pretend shock at such a playful insult.  
  
"Boys," Claire interrupted before the two started wrestling in jest.  
  
They looked at her with twin puppy-dog looks.  
  
"That's not gonna work on me, guys," she told them sternly, taking the lead down a dimly lit narrow street, littered with the odd piece of garbage. "And his name was Gerald Elliot."  
  
Brennan jogged up to her side. "I knew that."  
  
Jesse came up to her right, mirroring Brennan. "It's around here, right?"  
  
"He lives just here," Claire replied, indicating a grubby door on the far left.  
  
They crossed to it, and Brennan knocked loudly three times.  
  
Within no time, the door flew open, making Jesse start very slightly. He and Brennan both tensed visibly. Claire stayed still, facing off the rough looking man who had answered the door.  
  
"Yeah? Who are you?" the man asked gruffly.  
  
He fit the description that Adam had given them to go by, although his hair was longer, and more ragged, and rough stubble was clearly visible on his lean face.  
  
Claire avoided the question, and replied with one of her own, "Are you Gerald Elliot?"  
  
Without hesitation, with a swift powerful downward motion of his hands, he conjured up a wall of fire that exploded before the three figures.  
  
He bolted, obviously having realised what they wanted from him.  
  
"Dammit!" Brennan grumbled irritably, and leapt through the fire, a slightly reluctant Claire and Jesse close behind, rolling into prepped crouching positions.  
  
They immediately realised -the scene intensified by the brightness of the cruel flames- that Brennan had been set upon by four darkly-clad men brandishing crowbars, poles and even a quarterstaff.  
  
More figures burst out from side doors, grabbing a tight grip on Jesse, slamming him sidelong into the wall, and knocking him in the back of the knees, causing the young molecular to crumple to the ground.  
  
Before she could come to his aid, strong arms latched onto Claire. They spun her round, into the opposite wall, knocking the wind out of her painfully.  
  
She heard a pained cry from Jesse, and she could just make out -even as she ducked below a pole aimed for her head- the tall man kicking him,  
  
"Jesse!" she cried, and then saw Brennan struck hard in the back, knocking him out cold in an instant.  
  
She was grabbed again, and felt the strong arm cross in front of her throat, keeping her firmly in place.  
  
Jesse was struck again and again until finally he didn't struggle, and simply lay still.  
  
"Leave him alone!" she called desperately, just before she felt the damp cloth forced over her mouth and nose.  
  
The sweet scent made her want to retch, but before long, she succumbed to the chloroform's anaesthetising effects, and slumped in the man's arms. 


	5. Tipping The Scales

TIPPING THE SCALES  
  
  
  
"Shalimar, any word yet?" Emma asked with a flourish of concern edging her gentle voice. She stopped to stand behind the feral, who sat in the computer chair, staring at the screen.  
  
"No. It's been a whole half hour since their rings were deactivated," Shalimar replied, looking at the younger woman with a clear frown. "We need to do something."  
  
"You're right," came the voice of Adam as he strode up the steps behind them, "and I'm sorry I didn't let you go sooner."  
  
Shalimar stood, immediately ready to go. "It's not your fault, Adam."  
  
"We don't know for sure that anything has happened to them," Emma pointed out, even as Natasha appeared.  
  
"But we have to be realistic," Adam countered seriously, leading the way back down the stairs.  
  
Natty looked glum. This was the first time anything of this magnitude had happened whilst she had been on the scene. They could easily tell she was deeply worried for her cousin, and for Jesse. She probably worried for Claire's safety too, although not on the same level.  
  
"When I find that little weasel." Shalimar grumbled fiercely, trailing off into static silence that made them all yearn to go find their friends.  
  
* * *  
  
Emma followed Shalimar down the narrow street, feeling the presence of Natasha bringing up the rear. They had embarked from Sanctuary as soon as Adam had given them the go-ahead. He had looked understandably concerned about the remaining three members of Mutant X.  
  
Emma looked around the area after seeing a cat flee out of the edge of her vision. The animal attracted Shalimar's attention too, but after realising the source of the disturbance, she soon turned back to her inspection of the area.  
  
"Over there," she said suddenly, indicating with a nod, and moving over to the area.  
  
The ground at their feet -stretched in front of a blackened doorway- was scorched. Several garbage sacks had been melted, and a beam from above the door had collapsed, covering the opening.  
  
"I think it's safe to say this is the right place," Natty mumbled.  
  
Emma looked through the blocked opening, and saw. well, not very much at all.  
  
She saw Shalimar's eyes glow a golden yellow to help the woman see inside.  
  
"It's a mess in there," she told them, allowing her eyes to return to normal. She shook her head then. "I can't tell what happened without getting in there," she continued, "but I think the beam is still warm."  
  
Natty allowed herself a small smile, and stared behind Shalimar at the doorway.  
  
The beam shook, and slowly, lifted off the ground, unblocking the doorway. The opening became clear, and Shalimar smiled wanly. The feral walked in, followed by Emma.  
  
"I'll stay out here, and keep an eye out," Natty said, allowing the beam to settle off to the side.  
  
Emma and Shalimar trod carefully over the ground, where mud was splattered, and plaster broken from the walls had fallen.  
  
Taking a closer look, Emma noticed that a large impact against the wall had caused the plaster to come away.  
  
"Shalimar, take a look at this," she called softly, knowing that other people lived close by. She didn't want to attract unnecessary attention to their presence.  
  
The older woman moved over, and inspected the wall.  
  
"Looks like someone got thrown against the wall," Emma pointed out, indicating the broken plaster on the floor at their feet.  
  
Shalimar crouched down to inspect the floor, and rummaged with her hands through the plaster pieces. Soon, with a frown, she picked out a solid silver ring, holding it up.  
  
"It's Jesse's," she said sadly.  
  
Emma had guessed that Shalimar had smelt Jesse's scent on the ring.  
  
"So, we know something happened to Jesse, but what about Claire and Brennan?" Emma pointed out.  
  
Shalimar stood, pocketing the discarded ring. She began searching around for signs of the others.  
  
"What's going on?" Natty called from the doorway.  
  
Emma looked over, giving Natasha the reply with her blue eyes. Natty bowed her head.  
  
"I've found another one," Shalimar called from across the hall. "It's Brennan's," she added, looking up, and placing the second ring in her pocket.  
  
"Okay," Emma muttered, "so, just one more to find."  
  
"Yeah, but where is it?" Shalimar asked, looking around again, her face glum.  
  
* * *  
  
With a groan, he slowly opened his eyes, rolling from his side onto his back, squinting against the light from the ceiling, bright and harsh.  
  
He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them again, he glanced to the right.  
  
He sat up immediately, instantly regretting the action. Pain shot up and down his spine. He groaned again, rubbing the back of his neck, looking over again across the stark, plain room. That was when he realised he was soaked through, from head to toe. He frowned, confused.  
  
Lying on her side was Claire, out cold. And behind her, lying on his front unconscious, was Jesse.  
  
Brennan crawled over, wincing as the pain flowed up and down his back with each movement. Whatever they had hit him with had been big and heavy.  
  
"Claire?" he said gently, touching her head gently. She did not stir, and Brennan frowned again, watching as her hair fell in front of her face.  
  
He stroked it out of the way, and shook her shoulder gently.  
  
"Claire?" he repeated, and shook her again.  
  
This time, she stirred, slowly at first, and then her eyes fluttered open, and she grimaced, sitting up, holding her hand to her mouth and nose, as if in disgust.  
  
"What's wrong? Are you alright?" he asked, his voice unusually soft and full of concern. He stroked the side of her face.  
  
She shook her head for a moment, moaned softly, and looked him in the eye, lowering her hand.  
  
"I may not have been good at chemistry, but I know chloroform when I smell it." She grimaced again, and coughed twice.  
  
He rubbed her back gently. "You okay?"  
  
"I will be," she replied groggily. Then she looked him up and down, raising an eyebrow. "Brennan, you're soaked."  
  
Brennan sighed, and looked down at the still form of Jesse. "Yeah, I noticed. Means I can't use my power."  
  
Claire followed his gaze with a nod, and immediately awoke fully. "Oh my god, Jesse."  
  
She placed a hand on his head, and looked to Brennan. "How long have you been awake?" she asked Brennan, feeling for Jesse's pulse. From the look on her face, it was clear there wasn't too much to worry about. Jesse was simply unconscious, although his breathing was a little ragged.  
  
"About five minutes ago," he replied. He groaned again, bowing his head suddenly, and wincing, holding a hand to his neck.  
  
Claire's attention moved from Jesse to Brennan, and her brow furrowed. "Are you alright?"  
  
He nodded slowly, trying not to cause himself any further harm.  
  
That was when they head the click of the door unlocking, and then opening.  
  
Four large, leather-clad figures strode in, looking straight at them.  
  
Brennan stood in the tall clear cell. He realised then that the cell was lit more brightly than the rest of the blank room. The pain shot through his back again, but this time he ignored it.  
  
One of the men he recognised as Gerald, and Brennan moved forward with intent, only to be thrown back by a charge shot out of the wall.  
  
Claire was the next to stand, but she decided against Brennan's course of action. She simply glared, her stance alone most intimidating.  
  
"Ah, Miss Marlow, I'm guessing you're angry," another of the men said. He was tall and menacing, his hair and eyes dark.  
  
In the background behind Claire, Brennan knelt up.  
  
"Good guess," Claire retorted, words filled with venom, eyes narrowed.  
  
The man laughed. "That's good." He paused, dismissing everyone but Gerald. "My name is Eric Sampson."  
  
"I don't care," Claire said, her voice low.  
  
Sampson laughed again. "I see."  
  
"What do you want?" Claire demanded, seeming short as Brennan came up behind her.  
  
Sampson seemed to avoid the question, and launched into an explanation of his own, "Mr. Mulwray, as I'm sure you've noticed, you have been soaked with water. This is because we wanted you to avoid using your powers long enough for me to tell you that throwing electricity against the cell wall would most certainly kill all of you. One of you definitely."  
  
He smiled wickedly down at Jesse.  
  
"It's not hard for you to realise Mr. Kilmartin is unconscious. We're keeping him sedated so that he -like you Mr. Mulwray- doesn't harm himself. Attempting to pass through these walls would send a ten-thousand volt jolt through his body. intangible or not."  
  
Claire frowned. Apparently, they had thought of everything.  
  
"And as far you, Miss Marlow, if you look around, you'll see that there are no windows, not even a skylight. I understand your powers enough to know that you have to have direct access to the weather and its elements, either through a window or when you're out in the open. Your powers won't work in here." He paused, grinning. "Apart from your fog generation that is. Although, I don't see any use in that." With a laugh, he turned to leave, looking back only to say, "We'll be back for Mr. Kilmartin within the hour."  
  
"What for? Brennan asked, even as Sampson and Gerald exited. "Hey!"  
  
"Brennan," Claire warned as the other elemental moved for the cell wall, "you heard what he said."  
  
Brennan looked back. "I know."  
  
With a glance to Jesse, Claire moved to sit beside Brennan. 


	6. Desperate Times

DESPERATE TIMES.  
  
  
  
"I don't want the three of you putting yourselves at risk," Adam said through Natasha's ring. The woman nodded, and immediately realised the man couldn't see her, and replied, "We understand, Adam."  
  
"Good," Adam said calmly.  
  
Shalimar came over, saying clearly into Natty's ring, "But, Adam, we only found two commrings; Brennan's and Jesse's. What does that mean?"  
  
"It could mean any number of things," Adam began, and Natty could just imagine the man pacing back and forth pensively. "It could mean that Claire wasn't captured; or that someone stole her ring from Gerald's building; or even that whoever took Brennan and the others took her ring for some reason."  
  
"But why would they take it?" Emma asked, looking over her shoulder.  
  
She just caught a figure slinking off into the shadows.  
  
Before Adam could reply, Emma said quietly, "Wait, there's someone back there."  
  
They had just exited the narrow dirty street where Gerald Elliot lived, and they hadn't been out more than five seconds when the movement had caught her eye.  
  
Shalimar turned, and her eyes flashed. "You're right. They must have been waiting for us to leave."  
  
"Which probably means they've got something to hide," Natty added, lowering her hand to her side.  
  
They heard Adam finish up by saying, "Be careful."  
  
With that, the three women paced back into the street, silently moving after the mysterious skulking figure.  
  
Shalimar took the lead, and headed off at a swifter pace ahead of the other two.  
  
Suddenly, the figure whirled, and a ball of bright orange flames shot from his hands, rocketing towards them.  
  
Shalimar dropped immediately to the ground, and rolled out of the path of the fireball.  
  
Emma and Natasha jumped aside, only just managing to avoid being burned by the hot flames.  
  
The man laughed, and took off at a run away from them.  
  
"Gerald!" Shalimar called, and quickly pursued the New Mutant.  
  
Emma and Natty followed closely behind Shalimar, even as the feral had a sudden burst of unbelievable speed.  
  
She soon caught up with Gerald, and knocked him flat on the floor, dropping herself, and punching him square in the jaw afterwards.  
  
Emma and Natty hung back, watching Shalimar quickly gain the upper hand over the elemental.  
  
Within no time at all, Shalimar had subdued Gerald, having simply rendered him unconscious.  
  
"Adam, we've got Gerald," Natty announced into her ring.  
  
She could almost see the man's smile. "Alright, bring him in."  
  
"Will do, Adam." Natty lowered her hand, and aided Shalimar in lifting the man off the ground.  
  
* * *  
  
They had just left the Double Helix in the hangar, and had immediately transported the unconscious Gerald to the lab, met by Adam.  
  
"What's wrong with him, Adam? He was acting like he was possessed or something. I've never seen a New Mutant so volatile," Shalimar said to the man, helping him lift Gerald onto the table.  
  
"And his mind is a mess. I doubt even he knows what's going on in there," Emma added, coming up behind Shalimar.  
  
Adam began examining Gerald straight away, not even looking up when he replied, "Well, I have to do a few preliminary scans. We should get some answers then, hopefully. And when he wakes, he should be able to tell us where the others are."  
  
"Hopefully," Natty mumbled glumly from the rear of the group, and simply watched with brown inquisitive eyes as Adam went about scanning, aided by Emma.  
  
* * *  
  
Two hours had passed before Adam called Shalimar and Natasha back into the laboratory.  
  
They had had plenty of time to change into more comfortable clothes, and now felt much more free to move.  
  
Shalimar strode confidently and very gracefully into the lab, followed by the younger Natty, a denim skirt settling around her knees above knee-high boots.  
  
Adam looked up with a grave expression, and that expression was mirrored in Emma's gentle blue eyes, and the sadness on her face.  
  
"What is it? What's wrong?"  
  
It was then that they noticed there was no sound coming from the heart monitor, and that a flat line had trailed across it.  
  
Shalimar swallowed, and looked to Adam in disdain. "He's dead?"  
  
Adam nodded sorrowfully. "Yes. There was nothing we could do."  
  
"But what happened? He was fine a few hours ago," Natty inquired, puzzled beyond comparison.  
  
Adam rubbed his tired eyes for a moment, and then explained, clearly and slowly, "After we took the scans, we immediately noticed he had had his brain chemistry drastically altered. That's what caused the shutdown that killed him. There was no explanation as to why someone would do that kind of dangerous procedure in the first place. The part of the brain altered controls mood, and feelings, towards other people and situations. The alteration caused Gerald to appear carefree and cruel. That would explain why he murdered Shelley, his friend."  
  
Shalimar's brow knitted in concern. "That's actually possible?"  
  
Adam sighed. "Unfortuanately, in this time of science, yes, it is. Only the most experienced surgeons can perform the procedure, and it's extremely risky. I would never dare to go through with it. Why someone would do so willingly is a mystery to me."  
  
"Why would they do it in the first place?" Natty wondered aloud, coming to stand beside Emma, and looking down at the dead figure of Gerald Elliot.  
  
Adam shook his head. "That's what I'm afraid of. The only reason I can think of to perform this procedure is to alter someone's personality, to make it completely the opposite of what it was before. The kind become cruel, the sensitive turn their backs on the people they love. And friends become enemies."  
  
They stood in silence for a moment.  
  
"All I can think of is that they must have released a chemical into the brain to alter the emotions this drastically. There's no other explanation for what Gerald turned into."  
  
Shalimar bowed her head. She knew as well as the others what Adam was getting at, where his point lay.  
  
He was talking about Brennan, Jesse and Claire. 


	7. Something Wicked

SOMETHING WICKED.  
  
  
  
Claire sat with Brennan, rested up against the back wall, where they had discovered there was no charge flowing through the cell. It was obvious that there was no way to escape. they had tried countless times. Brennan was feeling a little dizzy from being shocked so many times. He hung his head down on his knees, his hands knotted in front of him.  
  
Claire didn't have to be a psionic to know that he felt responsible, unnecessarily. They had all been present, and unprepared for what they had come across.  
  
She looked over to where Jesse had been lying before those men had come and taken him away.  
  
With a heavy sigh, she ran a hand gently through Brennan's damp hair. He was still partially wet from his soaking, although it wasn't taking him that long to dry out. It was his clothes that were the worst, dripping wet still.  
  
Brennan would probably reconsider wearing leather from now on, Claire decided.  
  
"What do you think they're gonna do with Jesse?" she asked quietly, hating the silence that hung around the room and inside the brightly lit cell.  
  
Brennan shook his head, and replied without looking up, his voice slightly muffled, "I don't even wanna think about it. It can't be good."  
  
With a silent nod, Claire looked over to the door, and furrowed her brow when she saw the handle turn.  
  
"Brennan," she whispered, standing immediately.  
  
Brennan was off his feet before the door had fully opened, staring with clear anger at the four people who entered.  
  
Claire recognised two of them. They had entered with Sampson before. The other two were new; she hadn't seen them before.  
  
One of them smiled wickedly, and came up to the cell door, running a key card through a lock.  
  
They heard a shrill noise, and the door was unlocked.  
  
Immediately, the men entered the cell. One of them crossed to Claire, who backed away defensively.  
  
Brennan pulled Claire behind him, and faced the man off. "Get away from her," he growled protectively.  
  
Claire appreciated the concern, but she could handle herself against these jerks. She wanted a chance to make them regret what they were doing.  
  
The man punched Brennan hard in the gut, causing him to double over.  
  
"Brennan!" Claire cried, and went to help him, only to be threatened with a gun aimed at her chest.  
  
She knew better than to go against a handgun one to one, and hung back, watching in disdain helplessly as the men dragged Brennan from the room. The tall elemental struggled futilely.  
  
The cell door was locked again afterwards, leaving Claire alone in the silence.  
  
* * *  
  
Brennan went along with the men, silently walking in between them. Two of them held guns. The remaining two seemed to have no need for weapons; they were strong enough to handle Brennan without firearms.  
  
They came to a steel door, and one of the men ran the key card through it, unlocking it.  
  
Immediately, the door was opened from inside, and two figures exited.  
  
"Jesse?" Brennan muttered in utter disbelief, as a darkly clad young man exited the room with another. His hair was tousled, but seemed styled that way, making it appear wilder than before. He wore leather trousers, and a black sleeveless vest.  
  
He looked back at Brennan, a wicked grin on his young face, his blue eyes narrowed.  
  
Brennan fell silent, speechless at what he saw.  
  
With a quiet laugh, filled with evil, Jesse paced away with the other man, his heavy black combat boots echoing around the blank hallway.  
  
What the hell? Brennan thought, shortly before being dragged into the white room by the large men at his sides.  
  
He was greeted with the sight of men wearing white lab coats, and facemasks. Scientists.  
  
"What did you do to him?" he asked then, even as two of the men left the room, locking it after them.  
  
One of the men was Sampson. He could tell that much by looking at him. He didn't wear a facemask. His hands were calmly hidden in his pockets. He gave a silent nod to the men at Brennan's sides.  
  
They pulled Brennan's coat off of him, and walked him over to the table set in the middle of the room.  
  
Brennan noticed the restraints, and immediately pulled away from it, only to be struck in the back.  
  
He gave a cry, and fell to his knees with the shock of the hit.  
  
Sampson came over to him, smiling that same smile, and pulled Brennan's head up, his fingers twined tightly through Brennan's black hair.  
  
"You'll find out soon enough," Sampson said, just loud enough for Brennan to hear, "as soon as you wake up."  
  
Without warning, Brennan felt the needle in his arm, and moments later, he passed out.  
  
* * *  
  
Claire sat hunched against the back wall, her knees drawn up to her chest. She was alone, frightened, and clueless as to what had happened to her friends.  
  
The door opened again, and two figures walked in. She saw them out of the edge of her vision, and she refused to grant them the pleasure of acknowledgement.  
  
If they wanted something, they would have to tell her where her friends were first.  
  
"Claire," came a terrifyingly familiar voice.  
  
Claire's head snapped up suddenly, and her eyes widened and her jaw dropped slightly at what she saw.  
  
It was Jesse, conscious. He was staring right at her, leaned up against the back wall. He gave a nod to the man accompanying him, and the nameless stranger left.  
  
"Jesse?" she mumbled, rising from the floor, and pacing curiously over to the cell door, her eyes locking with Jesse's.  
  
He smiled at the corner of his mouth, and there was a look in his blue eyes that sent a shiver down Claire's spine.  
  
She resisted touching the cell wall, knowing what would happen to her if she did.  
  
Jesse pushed away from the wall, and moved over to her, his movements alone telling her that something was indeed wrong with him.  
  
"What happened to you?" she asked, looking the young molecular up and down. His clothes were completely different; identical in style and colour to that of the men she had seen before in this place.  
  
His hair hung in gelled spikes down his forehead, hovering away from his head as though they had a life of their own, no longer straight as it had been before, instead styled so that it spiked out at the bottom in every direction.  
  
The black clothes were startling to see on someone so gentle as Jesse Kilmartin, and the leather trousers were tight, meeting steel-toe capped boots at the ends. The vest top showed off his arms and part of his chest. His hands were constantly clenching and unclenching.  
  
He smiled then, coming right up to the cell, facing Claire like a predator teasing its helpless prey. "I'm fine. I feel great."  
  
His words were filled with intent, and she screamed in shock as he slammed a fist into the cell door, sending her backwards with the suddenness of it.  
  
She breathed heavily in disbelief, and heard his evil laughter fill the room. He turned his back on her for a moment, and paced over to the side of the room, into the shadows.  
  
After having recovered from the shock of the action, she said, "What have they done to you?"  
  
Jesse folded his arms over his chest, and cocked his head to the side, his spiked hair falling across his eyes partially. He didn't even bother shaking it aside. "They've opened my eyes, Claire."  
  
She frowned, and closed her eyes for a moment. This new Jesse was horrible; something she wished would be gone from her presence when she once again opened her eyes. To her disappointment, he was still there when she looked up again. She had hoped she had just imagined him.  
  
"Don't worry," Jesse said spitefully. "They'll do the same for you soon. Which reminds me," he began, with that same fierce smile, "Brennan should be back soon."  
  
Claire sighed lightly, avoiding looking at the cruel Jesse. She wanted nothing more than to wake up in her own bed now.  
  
She knew that wasn't going to happen.  
  
Jesse glanced at a pager on his belt, and looked up at Claire sadistically. "Time to go."  
  
She shook her head slowly, and backed right up into the rear of the cell, watching in horror as Jesse swiped a key card through the lock.  
  
He entered the cell, pacing predatorily directly over to Claire.  
  
Knowing how much she would have to apologise later, pushing down the guilt, she roundhouse kicked Jesse in the head, hoping to knock him down and out.  
  
Instead, he simply shook his head as though stunned, laughed, and looked her in the eye. The smile faded instantly.  
  
In the blink of an eye, he had her forced back against the rear wall, his hand latched around her throat.  
  
She choked, trying to pry him off with her hands, failing miserably.  
  
Obviously not intending to kill her, only terrify her -and succeeding- , Jesse grabbed a rough and painful hold on the back of her hair, at the back of her head, his fingers knotted in it tightly.  
  
She gasped with pain, and had no choice but to be forced out of the room, even as Brennan appeared at the opened doorway.  
  
He looked down at her intently, and smiled lopsidedly.  
  
She looked up at him with pained eyes, pleading with a look for him to help her.  
  
Jesse did not loosen his hold.  
  
Brennan was dressed all in black now as well; wearing a long-sleeved shirt with wide cuffs that hid his hands partially; leather trousers identical to Jesse's but longer and not so tight; and thick combat boots, no doubt reinforced in the toecaps with steel.  
  
"They're waiting for you," Brennan whispered into her ear, leaning over to be close to her.  
  
She felt the tear roll down her cheek, as she stared at the man she loved.  
  
Jesse tugged her away then, and led her down the corridor, coming to a halt at a steel door.  
  
It opened as though they had sensed their presence on the over side of the door, and Jesse threw her roughly inside.  
  
Claire looked up from her place on the floor where she had landed, and soon noticed the men in white approaching her. 


	8. Part Time

PARTY TIME  
  
  
  
Adam heard his remaining team members approach, and allowed his eyes to remain focused on the screen in front of him, where a rather cocky looking Proxy Blue reported a nearby disturbance in the city centre.  
  
"Eye witness reports claim that one of the troublemakers tried to light up the club like a Christmas tree," Proxy Blue continued, that same computer-generated grin on her face.  
  
"Did she just say what I think she said?" asked Shalimar as she halted beside Adam, watching the report with curiousity.  
  
Adam nodded. "Sounds a lot like Brennan, doesn't it?"  
  
"It could be another elemental," Natty offered, trying to see another alternative.  
  
Adam looked to her momentarily, telling her, "There are reports from eyewitnesses that one man knocked some people clean across the room, turning to rock, before vanishing when a bystander tried to hit him with a bar stool."  
  
"Jesse," Shalimar mumbled, lowering her head.  
  
"So what about-"  
  
"One of the most shocking things I've heard today is that in the middle of a toasty nightclub, something similar to a small tornado kicked up, and tore pretty much all of the club to pieces," Proxy Blue interrupted. "Weird, huh?"  
  
"That's gotta be Claire," Emma noted, shaking her head. "What are we going to do?"  
  
Adam sighed. He knew it could come to this, and it scared him to even think of what could happen.  
  
"You want us to go after them," Shalimar realised, nodding. "Alright." She looked back to the other two. "We have no other choice," she said to Natty in particular, seeing the look of defiance on the young woman's pretty face.  
  
Reluctantly, Natty nodded.  
  
Adam listened as they walked away, and bowed his head sadly.  
  
* * *  
  
"Over there," Shalimar pointed, striding swiftly up to the shattered door, the opening torn to pieces.  
  
They entered the club, where people were still cowering under the bar, hiding terrified behind toppled tables, glass littering the floor.  
  
The coloured lights flickered, swinging this way and that.  
  
"Shalimar," Emma whispered, nodding her head in the direction of three figures. They were looming over a fourth, simply cornering him off from the rest of the club, before one of the shorter two slammed his foot into the man's gut. The figures laughed.  
  
"Hey!" Shalimar called loudly, drawing the attention of the troublemakers.  
  
Please don't be them, she thought in her head, even as the heads of the three figures rose from their point of concentration, giving the man on the floor time enough to flee.  
  
Simultaneously, the three figures turned their heads to face them, eyes narrowed, devilish smiles on their faces.  
  
They looked like three evil hyenas, as they turned as one to face the three newcomers, their stances intimidating, their hair wild, and their clothes black.  
  
There were two men, and one woman, who stood between the two men. Her glare was the most intense, chilling.  
  
"Oh my god," Natty mumbled in horror, "it's them."  
  
The one of the left was Jesse, wearing leather pants, black thick boots, and a sleeveless vest, covered in a long leather coat that hung at his shins. His curtain-style hair was wild, spiky at the ends above his back, his fringe styled away from his forehead, yet still hanging in front of his eyes partially.  
  
The one on the right was Brennan, clad in identical leather pants; a long-sleeved shirt with wide cuffs; black boots; and a long leather coat, also identical to Jesse's, which swung around his lower legs. His hair was rougher than before, sticking out in every direction possible on top of his head.  
  
And in the middle was Claire. She wore tight clothes from head to toe; a low-cut black top that showed off her midriff; leather pants with a black belt; tall high-heeled boots; and a black leather coat that hovered around her ankles, very low to the ground. Her blonde hair seemed messy, but in fact, had been styled so that it was more feral in appearance, even more so than Shalimar's sometimes. It spiked at the ends, and pointed outwards away from her face. Her feathered bangs hung before her eyes, like a shroud.  
  
Claire delved slowly into her coat pocket, retrieving a small object from it, and tossing it to Shalimar, who faced the woman off defiantly.  
  
Shalimar caught the object, and opened her hand to glance at it.  
  
It was Claire's commring.  
  
Shalimar looked back up at Claire then, as the woman said, "Tell Adam we don't work for him anymore. He can do his own dirty work."  
  
"Dirty work?" Natty grumbled, standing opposite her tall cousin. "What about what they were just doing to that man?"  
  
Jesse was next to speak, his voice much less gentle and soft than before. "What can I say? The guy hit me with a chair."  
  
Claire laughed sadistically, and ran a hand slowly down Jesse's arm.  
  
Natty shifted on her feet noticeably.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry," Claire said with mock apology, "am I on your turf?"  
  
Jesse grinned wickedly, and stared long and hard at Natasha, who looked away immediately.  
  
"What's the matter?" he asked, "Don't you love me anymore?" He laughed loudly, as did Brennan, and the two looked to each other.  
  
Emma was staring intently at the three of them, and she closed her eyes briefly.  
  
"Don't bother with the mind tricks," Brennan announced, speaking for the first time, glaring at Emma.  
  
The interruption seemed to kill Emma's concentration, and she looked up suddenly, with a sharp intake of breath. What she had been intending to do would have to wait until later.  
  
"Come back to Sanctuary with us," Shalimar told them, "Adam can help you."  
  
"Oh yeah, that reminds me," Claire said, "how's Gerald?"  
  
"He's dead," Emma told them bluntly.  
  
Jesse tilted his head for a moment, shrugging. "Thought as much."  
  
Without warning, Brennan shot a bolt of electricity across the room, narrowly missing his cousin's head.  
  
Natty rolled off to the side like she had been trained, looking up in shock at Brennan, who grinned.  
  
"Sorry," he said, "I was aiming at you, not beside you. I'll try harder next time." He ran at her, followed by Jesse, who bolted right towards a stunned Emma, who only just managed to leap aside in time.  
  
Claire paced over the trashed floor to come face to face with Shalimar, even as Jesse and Brennan dug through the overturned chairs and tables for Emma and Natasha.  
  
"I don't wanna fight you," Shalimar told Claire sternly.  
  
Claire punched Shalimar in the jaw, spinning and following it up with a hard blow with the other hand, knocking Shalimar to the ground.  
  
"Too bad," Claire giggled, "'cause I do."  
  
Shalimar had had enough. She let her eyes glow a feral gold, and leapt up from the floor without the use of her hands, only to be kicked in the stomach, and thrown backwards.  
  
* * *  
  
"Come on, Emma, I don't wanna hurt you," Jesse said, his tone teasing, "I just wanna break every bone in your body, that's all."  
  
He phased out, passing through a wall, hearing Emma cry out in surprise from the other side.  
  
He grabbed at her with a hand, latching firmly onto the lapels of her denim coat, throwing her across the room. She crashed onto a table, breaking it apart.  
  
He laughed wickedly. "That was fun, let's do it again."  
  
Emma scrambled to her feet, and stared at Jesse suddenly.  
  
He came into direct contact with a barrier that had no corporeal form. He slammed a palm against it, and then massed, pounding it with a fist.  
  
Emma gasped, and her psychic barrier fell, letting the massed Jesse through.  
  
He walked straight over to her, still massed, and punched her hard.  
  
Jesse returned to normal, watching Emma slump to the floor, out cold. He shrugged, and looked over his shoulder as the rest of the action continued.  
  
* * *  
  
Brennan shot another bolt at Natty, who cowered behind a fallen table. When she looked back over the top of it, a chair rose from the floor, flying directly towards Brennan.  
  
It struck him in the back as he turned against it, wincing as it stung a little. When he turned back, he had already formed another ball, and sent it careening towards Natty, who hadn't seen it coming.  
  
It hit her full force in the body, sending her flying backwards over the bar, smashing several bottles on the other side, and falling to the ground in a rain of glass.  
  
Brennan shrugged with a smile, and leaned comfortably up against a pillar to watch the centre of attention in the middle of the room.  
  
* * *  
  
Shalimar was knocked back again and again; a barrage of blows slamming into her, each one feeling like the strike of an anvil. Claire's strength was unbelievable all of a sudden, and the elemental didn't even break a sweat. She kicked and punched relentlessly, denying Shalimar the chance to strike back against her.  
  
Kicking Shalimar back across the room, Claire raised her arms, walking slowly towards her, looking to the ceiling, and closing her eyes.  
  
Suddenly, the glass from the windows smashed in with a great gust of wind, and the shards shot towards Shalimar.  
  
She covered her face with her arms; feeling pieces of glass embed themselves in her flesh. She gritted her teeth against the pain, and waited for the wind to die down.  
  
When she looked up again from behind her arms, she saw the three figures had gone. She looked to the open door, seeing them walk down the alley away from the club, clearly bored.  
  
"Natty! Emma!" Shalimar cried, rising from the ground.  
  
Natty came out from the bar holding her head, a cut on her forehead bleeding.  
  
"Where's Emma?" Shalimar asked, just before she noticed the boot sticking out from beneath a table.  
  
She ran over, narrowly avoiding tripping several times, and dug Emma out of the carnage. She lifted Emma off the ground, noticing the painful bruise on the side of her face.  
  
"Come on, we're not finished with them yet," Shalimar growled, and Natasha followed obediently, still holding her head.  
  
They left the club, and in a loud clear voice, Shalimar yelled, "Hey!"  
  
The three looked back at them, and turned to face them.  
  
Shalimar saw Jesse cross his arms, and noticed Brennan and Claire join hands, the latter facing the sky, concentration level high.  
  
A light ebbed and flowed from their hands, seeping into each other's arms.  
  
Jesse watched with half-hearted interest.  
  
Raising their other hands skyward, Shalimar heard a deafening rumble from the dark clouds that had just rolled in. A light flashed from the heavens.  
  
"My god," she mumbled, even as the bolt of lightning shot from Brennan's hand, up into the sky, seeming to set the clouds ablaze.  
  
In the blink of an eye, thunder and lightning were crashing around them, bolts of pure electrical energy shooting down from the sky, tearing the alley apart.  
  
Shalimar, without hesitation, turned tail and fled back into the club, Emma still in her arms, followed by Natasha.  
  
She watched in disbelief as Claire and Brennan let their storm rage for a few moments more, before lowering their hands, and letting go of one another, Claire visibly weakened.  
  
With Jesse, they turned, and stalked off into the shadows, victorious. 


	9. Eye Of The Storm

THE EYE OF THE STORM  
  
  
  
"What happened?" Adam called as he greeted the two conscious figures that entered the lab, Emma in Shalimar's arms.  
  
Natty had a nasty cut on her forehead that had bled quite a bit. The young woman had wiped it away with the back of her hand though, obviously not concerned for that right now.  
  
Shalimar laid Emma on the bed, removing her jacket, wincing as she did so. Her arms were covered in tiny cuts, and Adam saw small shards of glass protruding from one or two of the wounds. He would have to see to that quickly.  
  
Emma herself was unconscious, sporting a painful-looking bruise on the left side of her beautiful face.  
  
"Jesse?" he inquired, indicating the bruise, retrieving a scanner from a tray beside the bed, and running it over Emma's face.  
  
Shalimar nodded, seemingly out of breath. "Yeah. I didn't see it happen, but he went after her."  
  
Adam sighed loudly, heavily. He activated the full scanner, and watched as it ran along the ceiling, performing a detailed scan of Emma as she lay on the bed. The results appeared on the wall screen, and Adam crossed over to inspect them.  
  
Shalimar looked down at Emma, the guilt clear on her feminine features. "We never should have confronted them. They were so strong; their power was so. unbelievable. I've never seen them so strong. Claire had me at such a disadvantage."  
  
Adam looked back from his scan results, and walked over to them, looking down at Emma. "Well, Jesse didn't hurt her too much. She has a mild concussion, but she'll be fine with some rest."  
  
"Adam, what are we going to do? We'd lost the fight before it had even started," Shalimar said sadly, retrieving the ring from her jacket pocket, tossing the jacket aside afterwards. She handed the ring to Adam. "It's Claire's. She gave it to us, and she told us to tell you 'they don't work for you anymore', and to 'do your own dirty work'. Adam. they were so different."  
  
"Let me guess; they were cruel, and sadistic," Adam offered with a grim expression, rubbing his eyes again.  
  
Natty replied, "Yeah. Brennan didn't even seem to care that I was his cousin. or about anything really. He was ruthless."  
  
Adam nodded.  
  
"There's something else, Adam," Shalimar added, her tone alone telling him it was important.  
  
He looked up to meet her gaze.  
  
"Claire and Brennan, they." she hesitated, looking to Natasha. "They conjured up one hell of a storm. literally."  
  
"What?" Adam asked, stunned.  
  
"Within moments, they made an actual storm come out of nowhere. They joined hands, and Brennan conducted lightning right outta the sky. The thunder was so loud, it shook me inside."  
  
Adam was shocked beyond words. "I've heard of theories where New Mutants could link their powers, but I've never actually heard of it actually happening." He looked Shalimar in the eye, and then Natty. "This is worse than I thought. If they've figured out how to do that, then there may be more they can discover about the intensity of their powers that not even I know about."  
  
"Oh great," Shalimar grumbled sarcastically, and her voice caught. "So now you're saying that our friends might be the ones to tear us apart?"  
  
Adam looked away from her for a moment, picking up a cloth with which to clean Shalimar's wounds, and mumbled, "That's exactly what I'm saying." 


	10. The Pack

THE PACK  
  
  
  
With a stretch, groaning happily, Claire perched herself on Brennan's lap as he sat slouched in a leather chair in the vast room, decorated generously with expensive furniture, and valuable artwork and electrical equipment. Quiet heavy metal music played in the background, a strange contrast to the soft lighting in the beautiful room.  
  
Jesse sat on a chair across the room, sitting on the backrest, his booted feet rested firmly on the seat of the chair. His leather jacket was slung over the back of a nearby chair, and he sat now in his sleeveless vest top, and leather pants. He stared fixatedly with deceivingly gentle- looking blue eyes at a nonexistent point in the centre of the floor.  
  
With a sigh, Claire said, "What's wrong with you?"  
  
Jesse looked up at her, and shrugged once. "I dunno. Just restless I guess."  
  
"Well get over it," Claire ordered, leaning back onto Brennan's broad chest as the man listened to the music that played through the surround- sound system in the room. His attention was partially on the conversation taking place around him though, and he glanced occasionally with a distracted expression at Jesse as he began pacing.  
  
"That fight was over too fast," Jesse complained, standing defiantly before Claire.  
  
She rolled her eyes. "It's not our job to do what we like, Jess'," she told him sternly, sitting up on Brennan's lap, much to the man's chagrin. He looked at the back of her pleadingly, like a dog that yearned for more attention.  
  
"We do what we're told," Claire continued, standing, pacing over elegantly to stand before Jesse, the two equal in height, making the confrontation all that more interesting for the observing Brennan.  
  
He slouched back in the chair, and simply watched with intrigue.  
  
"Yeah? Well, maybe it's time we took the initiative," Jesse grumbled, hands akimbo.  
  
Claire cocked her head, her dark blonde hair, streaked with lighter blonde falling gracefully around her feminine face and neck.  
  
She backhanded Jesse hard, without saying a word, giving the eager New Mutant the response to his recent comment about initiative.  
  
She turned her back on him, walking back to the smiling Brennan, and said, "That enough initiative for you, Kilmartin?"  
  
Jesse looked back, eyes narrowed, and scoffed quietly. "Whatever," he muttered under his breath, as Claire and Brennan kissed passionately.  
  
Jesse took it upon himself to lounge lazily on a leather couch across the room from the couple, turning his gaze away from them. His limbs screamed for a fight, as did his head. He wanted nothing more than to satisfy that yearning, but with Claire clearly in charge, he had no choice but to follow orders.  
  
Brennan however, had no problems with following orders, and seemed perfectly content as long as he could have Claire near him.  
  
Jesse rolled his eyes discreetly, and listened subconsciously as the two lovers giggled quietly, and recalled the fight.  
  
Jesse did have to admit though that the conjuring of the storm had been impressive, and he knew that would impress Mr. Sampson. More than he would be impressed with Jesse anyway.  
  
But Jesse had his own unique possibilities and potential. If Sampson ever wanted a secured item, Jesse was certain he could acquire it without a problem. He smiled wanly.  
  
It was then that the door clicked open, and Sampson entered, hands, as ever, hidden in his pockets.  
  
Jesse shot up immediately, settling into a sitting position, his feet wide apart, his elbows rested on his knees, arms dangling between his legs.  
  
Brennan and Claire did not move, simply slouched arm in arm with one another. They looked to Sampson, and Brennan acknowledged the man with a nod.  
  
"I hear you succeeded in your mission," Sampson began, glancing briefly down at Jesse. It was clear already that he was less impressed with the molecular then he was with the elementals.  
  
Typical, Jesse thought bitterly, and glared down at the floor.  
  
"I have to say," Sampson continued, pacing further into the room towards the two elementals locked in each other's arms, "I was impressed when I heard about your little storm. Did you know before that you could do that?"  
  
Brennan, as ever, remained mostly silent, simply smiling.  
  
Claire was the one to speak, "Not really. Just took a chance. If it hadn't worked, then no harm done."  
  
Sampson laughed. "I like your style."  
  
With that, he turned towards the door, not saying a word to Jesse. Before leaving, he whirled, saying, "And one other thing."  
  
They looked to him expectantly.  
  
"I want you to eliminate Adam and his freaks." Without another word, Sampson left, closing the door behind him.  
  
Jesse flopped back down into a laying position immediately.  
  
"Hey, you hear that, Jesse, we get to kick some Mutant X ass," Claire said to him, and as Jesse looked over, she was smiling.  
  
Jesse realised that maybe this day wasn't going to turn out to be as dull and pointless as he had first thought.  
  
"More like kill," he corrected with a laugh.  
  
The three laughed together, Brennan and Claire in each other's arms affectionately, Jesse lying alone, but still pleased nevertheless.  
  
He had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. 


	11. On The Hunt

ON THE HUNT  
  
  
  
Natasha was a little nervous being out on the streets again, especially after their fight with their friends, relatives, and loved ones. She felt rotten, having to chase them again. why couldn't they just change back to normal again, and come home? There wouldn't be any hard feelings, she knew. It didn't work that way.  
  
"I hope Adam's friend is worth his word," Shalimar grumbled unhappily, striding down the street, her short leather coat zipped up to the neck.  
  
Natty sighed. "Yeah, or we're out here on a wild goose chase."  
  
"I wouldn't say that," Shalimar mumbled, holding up a hand, indicating three figures discreetly as they moved into an alleyway, everyone in their path moving aside immediately at the intimidating appearance of the three.  
  
I don't blame them, Natty thought, and followed Shalimar in that direction, asking, "What's the plan?"  
  
"I don't exactly have one yet," Shalimar replied, looking around her, and noticing a fire escape ladder leading up the side of the building by the alley.  
  
"So, what are we going to do?" Natty inquired, peeking into the alley, noticing Claire, Brennan and Jesse halt at the end.  
  
She quickly removed her head from their line of sight, and thanked her lucky stars none of them were feral. They would have sensed their presence in no time at all.  
  
Which would have meant another confrontation, which Natty didn't ever want to go through again.  
  
"Okay," Shalimar breathed, "I'm going up the fire escape. You provide a distraction."  
  
"That's your plan?" Natty blurted quietly, managing to keep her voice down in the tense situation.  
  
Shalimar cocked her head, and shrugged. "What, you were expecting something more complex?"  
  
Natty watched with a frown as Shalimar scaled the fire escape with frustrating ease, leaving her alone on the path.  
  
With a deep breath, calming her erratic nerves, Natty glanced into the mouth of the alley, spotting a collection of tin cans. She smiled.  
  
Perfect.  
  
Using her telekinesis, she lifted them into the air, sending them one by one shooting down the alley, over Jesse and the other's heads.  
  
They started when the can clattered against the building behind them, and looked to the alley mouth.  
  
Natty sent all of the remaining cans in their direction immediately, without hesitation.  
  
She heard Claire say something, and the rushing of feet as she and Jesse ran to the edge of the alleyway.  
  
Natty had jumped up, and climbed onto the fire escape mere seconds before, avoiding immediate detection.  
  
She peered once again into the alley as Jesse and Claire looked around in puzzlement, trying to locate the source of the disturbance.  
  
Brennan stood alone, looking down the alley at Jesse and Claire, his arms at his sides, clearly not thinking about shooting electricity at this point in time.  
  
That was when Shalimar leapt from the building's fire escape, five floors up, and landed squarely on Brennan.  
  
The tall man crumpled to the floor under Shalimar's weight, giving a small cry.  
  
Immediately, Claire and Jesse's attention flicked back to the alley, and they started to move in that direction, evil expressions of anger clouding their faces.  
  
With a deep breath in again, Natty managed to lift Jesse completely off of the ground, only managing to cause Claire to hover about two feet in the air.  
  
That was when they noticed her, and Claire caused a gust of wind to buffet against Natty, jogging her concentration.  
  
Claire landed on the ground, Jesse merely falling a few feet towards the floor, before halting again, helpless to prevent the telekinetic attack.  
  
Claire ran down the alley for Shalimar and the now unconscious Brennan, only to be stopped by the feral, who spun up, kicking Claire back and away. Shalimar quickly bent down, picking Brennan off of the floor, and into her arms, leaping away and up into the fire escape again. She started to climb quickly up the steps.  
  
"Jesse!" Claire thundered, calling the other New Mutant to her.  
  
He struggled futilely for a few more seconds before Shalimar called Natty away. He crashed to the ground, picking himself up immediately, and moving to Claire.  
  
Natty ran up to meet Shalimar several feet up, looking down at the ant-sized figures of Jesse and Claire.  
  
"How did you know he'd stay behind?" Natty asked breathlessly, indicating Brennan, who Shalimar had lay on the ground momentarily.  
  
"I didn't know for certain. I knew they wouldn't all go investigate for some reason. I just hoped to pick off the straggler," Shalimar explained, smiling wanly, "and that happened to be your cousin here."  
  
"We should get back to Adam," Natty suggested, casting another glance downwards. She could see Claire and Jesse starting to climb the fire escape.  
  
Shalimar nodded, and scooped Brennan off the floor. "Hopefully, he'll be able to find out how to reverse the process," she said, moving with Natty over to the stationary Double Helix.  
  
By the time Claire and Jesse had scaled the building, the Double Helix was airborne, and already flying away, leaving them standing on the rooftop, staring after them. 


	12. Hell Hath No Fury

HELL HATH NO FURY.  
  
  
  
Slamming the door behind her, and glaring at Jesse angrily, Claire gave an enraged shout, clearing the feeling of fury from her system.  
  
"Calm down," Jesse said, sounding more than a little annoyed himself.  
  
Claire glared, and then took a deep breath in, letting it out slowly.  
  
The door at the end of the entrance hall opened, and Sampson and two other figures entered, moving over to them.  
  
Claire and Jesse faced them then, and stood up straight. They knew they were going to disappoint Sampson; that much was obvious in the look that had already appeared on the man's face.  
  
"What happened? Where's Mulwray?" Sampson asked, his voice slow and deliberately exaggerated.  
  
Jesse answered, "They were waiting for us."  
  
"Well, that was the whole idea, Kilmartin. You were supposed to kill them. Now, where is he?"  
  
Claire took it upon herself to reply this time, and she stepped forward as though she were claiming responsibility. "They took him. They tricked us. We didn't even know they were there."  
  
Sampson's anger flashed in his eyes for a minute, and he removed two objects from his pocket, squeezing them both in his hands.  
  
Jesse and Claire cried out in agony, and fell to the floor, clutching their heads as streams of red-hot pain shot through their skulls.  
  
Sampson stood over them, continuing the punishment for a few more seconds before releasing the objects, and placing them back in his pockets.  
  
Claire looked up into Sampson's eyes with an apologetic expression. "We're sorry. It won't happen again."  
  
Jesse was on his knees, head rested on the floor, hands covering his head, breathing heavily, and recovering. He did not look up from the ground, simply knelt there.  
  
"You're damn right it won't," Sampson snapped, and lowered himself to a crouching position. "Because if it does, the one who comes crawling back here won't get the chance to be sorry."  
  
Sampson strode away heavily, followed by his two guards, leaving Claire and Jesse in the entrance.  
  
Claire moved over to Jesse, who groaned loudly, and looked up with pained eyes at Claire. "This is what we stick around for?"  
  
Claire shook her head in silence, and helped him off of the floor.  
  
* * *  
  
The four of them stood in the large training room, the walls and floors absent of padding however. Sampson did not believe in softening the experience of failure in a fight.  
  
And the four fighters knew that.  
  
They stood, in teams of two, staring into the eyes of the other two, their opponents.  
  
Claire stood next to Jesse, facing two other mutants. A psionic named Griff, and a feral who went by the name of Tiger, wittily enough.  
  
The two men were large, muscular. The psionic and the feral seemed cocky, confident.  
  
The molecular and the elemental facing them however were equally confident, if not more so. They had stronger powers, and they knew it.  
  
The psionic named Griff had not been accustomed to his powers long, and so, as a result of that, was weaker than his companion. Griff had the ability to read thoughts, and could sense what a person's next move would be.  
  
Claire faced Griff defiantly, whilst Jesse stared long and hard at Tiger.  
  
In a blur, the battle began, and the four New Mutants rushed at one another, Griff immediately ducking under a kick he had obviously known was coming. What he didn't sense was that Claire had seen that coming, and kicked backwards, flattening the man.  
  
Jesse phased as Tiger swung viciously at him. When Tiger swung again, Jesse had massed, and the feral's fist smashed against his solid body. He stifled a cry, and waited for Jesse to return to normal. Instead of granting Tiger that pleasure, Jesse stayed massed for a few more seconds, long enough to pound his solid fist against the feral's chest, sending him flying backwards, straight into the wall.  
  
Griff ducked and blocked roughly half of Claire's blow, delivering a few himself, but not enough to knock the elemental off balance.  
  
With the few spare moments that came between a barrage of blows between the two, Claire released thick fog into the room, catching their opponents off guard.  
  
Tiger stood from the floor, looking around, his eyes turning feral to search for Jesse. The molecular appeared before him, and kicked him square in the jaw with a massed foot.  
  
Tiger fell into a heap on the floor, leaving Jesse looming over him victorious.  
  
Claire knew that Griff was disoriented. He had no one to concentrate his psionic powers on, no one's mind to read. Watching the movement of the fog as it was disturbed by a movement, she jumped, and spun into a fast kick, feeling her foot come into solid contact with someone's back. She heard them collapse to the ground.  
  
Claire moved over to the fallen figure, joined shortly by a triumphant Jesse, coming to a halt over Griff, who groaned as he lay on the floor.  
  
Claire cocked her head as she stared, and looked to Jesse, who simply smiled.  
  
Without hesitation, she brought her foot down hard on his head, knocking him out immediately. She stepped away afterwards.  
  
They heard the ventilation system come online, and suck the fog from the room. The two knew that Sampson had been able to see them clearly though. he just wanted to look at them without the use of thermal imaging.  
  
He was grinning, looking down on the two proudly.  
  
"Well done," he told them. "Very well done." He laughed, and nodded, satisfied.  
  
Jesse looked across to Claire, who had suddenly lost her triumphant smile.  
  
She paced from the room, and that was when he realised she was missing Brennan.  
  
Sighing, he trailed out after her. 


	13. Like An Open Book

LIKE AN OPEN BOOK  
  
  
  
The lab seemed peaceful now, after all the trials of late. Trials that had not yet passed over them fully. They still had business to attend to, but now, they had to recover from the latest task.  
  
Adam looked down at Brennan as he lay still on the bed, his heartbeat slow and rythmic, the sound from the monitor almost soothing.  
  
"You did it, Adam," came the gentle voice of Emma from the other bed, as the young woman rose from a resting sleep. She had awaken about an hour after Brennan had been brought in, whilst Adam was still struggling to figure out how to reverse the tricky process carried out by whatever maniacs had captured him and the others in the first place.  
  
Adam looked back briefly at Emma, his hand hovering near his mouth in pensive consideration. "I was lucky."  
  
He heard Emma sigh, and then rise from the bed. "Don't demean what you've accomplished, Adam. This is more important than luck, and you know that. You saved his life."  
  
Adam remained silent, trapped in his incoherent thoughts, thoughts that nibbled at his subconscious and wouldn't give him a moment's peace.  
  
"What is it, Adam?" Emma asked with a worried edge to her voice.  
  
After a couple more silent moments, Adam looked back at Emma, turning his back on the man lying on the lab bed, and said, "I saved Brennan, that's true, but I was just in time."  
  
He saw the look on Emma's face then, and he knew she understood.  
  
He continued nevertheless for the sake of clarity, "If we don't get Claire and Jesse in here right away, their nervous systems will completely shut down, beyond the point of repair. I won't be able to do a thing for them." He hesitated, hovering over the words for a few tentative moments. "They'll die."  
  
* * *  
  
Emma felt her heart jump at the end of the sentence, and she shook her head. "But you saved Brennan," she explained, indicating the sleeping man behind Adam, "can't you help the others the same way?"  
  
Adam shook his head vigorously. "No. That won't work for much longer. Soon, they'll start losing all control over their powers, before their cells start to come apart, leading to organ failure, and complete shut down."  
  
Emma couldn't believe what she was hearing. Two of the best friends she could ever have were on the brink of death, and they had no idea.  
  
She bowed her head in sorrow, and then looked up to Adam.  
  
He seemed to sense the urgency in her, and he turned. "What's wrong?"  
  
She allowed herself half a smile, and said, "What if I can contact them?"  
  
He shook his head. "You might not be able to reach them. They're not the same people they were before, Emma. I doubt you would even be able to find them amongst the masses."  
  
"But let me try," Emma pleaded, wincing at the pain the bruise on her face caused. Adam had healed some of the damage, but a noticeable darkening of the skin was still clear.  
  
Adam sighed resignedly, and looked her in the eye. "Alright, but the minute you start to feel uncomfortable, you break it off, okay?"  
  
She nodded, and took a deep breath, settling herself comfortably into a seated position on the bed behind her. She closed her eyes, and breathed slowly, rhythmically.  
  
Emma searched her mind for Jesse, who she had known the longest out of the two. She knew his mind better, she had scanned the molecular many a time before, and she was confident she could find him now, amongst the crowds, wherever he was.  
  
Her concentration built swiftly, from practice, and she soon felt her mind reaching out for his, searching quickly and efficiently through the masses, sifting through them with ease.  
  
And then she found him, even though his mind was a jumble. He didn't know what to think, or what to do, what to say, or how to go about saying the words. He was frightened, deep inside, his subconscious silenced, trapped within his mind.  
  
"Emma?" Adam said quietly to her from close by, not wishing to disrupt her progress.  
  
"I've found him," she reported, keeping her concentration fixed on Jesse.  
  
She saw through his eyes, and noticed Claire. The image was blurred, unfocused. Emma wondered then if Jesse could sense her presence in his mind. In his condition, it would probably be counterproductive for him to know he was being read by a psionic.  
  
Jesse looked out of the window, giving her more information than she could have possibly hoped for. She saw tall buildings, and long streets, filled with cars and people going about their daily business. And clubs, with crowds already gathering outside of them.  
  
Opening her eyes, Emma smiled. "I know where they are." 


	14. Unveiling

UNVEILING  
  
  
  
Shaking his head vigorously in shock, Jesse whirled, staring around the room, eyes narrowed.  
  
What the hell was that? Jesse thought to himself, scanning the room with his eyes, puzzled beyond belief.  
  
He had felt the presence in his mind, invading his thoughts, probing for something. But what? And who had done it? Obviously it had been a psionic, but not Griff, or Mark. They were the only psionics here, and they weren't as powerful as the presence he had felt mere moments before.  
  
And then he realised who it had been. It was so obvious; he wanted to punch himself for being so dense.  
  
"Claire," he said, looking across the room to the glum elemental, who was still moping around after losing Brennan.  
  
"What is it?" she grumbled unenthusiastically.  
  
He crossed the room to her, and said, "There was a psionic reading me."  
  
Claire's head rose immediately. "What?"  
  
"I think it was Emma," he added, looking around with paranoid suspicion. What if she was here?  
  
"Don't be ridiculous," she retorted, scoffing quietly.  
  
"I'm not," he responded with spite, and paced back and forth for a moment, in thought. "What if they found out where we are? They'll come after us. Claire," he paused, staring her in the eye, "you know what that means."  
  
She rolled her eyes, obviously not able to care less.  
  
"Fine," he muttered impatiently under his breath, and left the room, quickly making his way down to Sampson's office, bursting in unannounced and uninvited.  
  
"What do you want, Kilmartin?" he heard Sampson demand.  
  
"I felt a psionic reading me," he told the man, "I think it was Emma deLauro."  
  
Sampson shot up from behind his desk, stalking round to confront Jesse. "Do you know what that could mean?"  
  
Jesse nodded.  
  
The sharp pain shot through his skull again, and Jesse cried out in agony, dropping to his knees, clutching his head, breathing rapidly.  
  
Sampson crouched down to Jesse's level, and hissed into his ear, "You could have led them right to us!"  
  
Without looking up into the eyes of the other man, Jesse managed to say, "I didn't know until it was too late. There. there was nothing I could do about it."  
  
Sampson squeezed the device again, activating the pain once more.  
  
Jesse cried out again, dropping to his side in sheer agony, curling into a ball to try and shut out the pain, his breathing even more ragged and forced. He clutched his skull tightly, trying to will the feeling away.  
  
Sampson paced over to him slowly. "I knew I shouldn't have kept you around, Kilmartin."  
  
Jesse could do nothing to respond, only cry out again when the pain resurfaced with more intensity.  
  
"Stop!" he cried suddenly.  
  
"You're weak," Sampson told him sternly, bluntly, yet his words were filled with venom.  
  
With another cry, Jesse yelled, "No, please! Stop it!"  
  
Sampson, after a moment of consideration, released his hold on the device, deactivating it, pocketing it once again.  
  
He crouched down, even as Jesse attempted to rise from the floor, not getting very far very fast. "I knew I would regret bringing you here. It was a mistake."  
  
Jesse looked at the man with pained blue eyes, and panted, "I never wanted to come, you son-of-a-bitch. I know what you're doing, and you won't get away with it."  
  
Sampson's face showed disbelief.  
  
Jesse felt a weight suddenly lifted in his mind, and with it came a burning sensation that threatened to tear his skull apart from the inside. He hissed through clenched teeth, and held a hand to his temple, wincing.  
  
It was then that he remembered all that he had done, and whom he had done it to. He gasped in horror, and nearly collapsed once again, only this time in disgust. with himself.  
  
He stared up at Sampson in terror, and scrambled to his feet.  
  
"How?" Sampson murmured, shaking his head. "That's impossible. It's irreversible."  
  
Jesse paced backwards away from the man, coming into firm contact with the wall.  
  
He heard the door lock behind him, and noticed that Sampson had activated a device from his desk that locked them in.  
  
Jesse lowered his hand, even though the pain persisted, and stared into the inhuman gaze of Sampson.  
  
Reaching into his desk, Sampson retrieved a firearm, and aimed it at Jesse's chest. "I won't let you out of here alive."  
  
"You're forgetting one thing, moron," Jesse panted, in great pain, all over now, not just in his head. Sampson cocked his head, even as he started to squeeze the trigger. "I'm a molecular." 


	15. Shots In The Dark

SHOTS IN THE DARK  
  
  
  
The first bullet was propelled from the gun mere seconds after Jesse had phased through the wall, crashing to the ground with the surprise of it. The bullet tore right through the wall, and into the other side of the hallway.  
  
Starting violently as more shots ripped through the wall, where Sampson obviously hoped Jesse was still standing, Jesse scrambled away from the area, getting to his feet as soon as he knew he would be safe.  
  
He ran to the door he knew he had come from before, and opened it, slamming it shut behind him, resting his back firmly against it.  
  
He heard no crashing of footsteps. Maybe the idiot had locked himself in his own office.  
  
"Jesse, what the hell's the matter with you?" he heard Claire ask, even as she moved over to him, her movements fluidic and graceful, yet seductive in their suggestion.  
  
He furrowed his brow, and panted heavily, realising now that he couldn't breathe normally. He shook his head. Jesse tried to walk away from her, but only got a few paces before feeling his knees weaken considerably.  
  
Claire caught him before he crumpled completely, and there was concern on her face. "What's wrong? What is it?"  
  
Jesse found he had no words to reply, and before long, even when held up by Claire, he collapsed completely to the floor.  
  
His breathing came in ragged heaving sighs, and he winced through the agonising cramps that ravaged his body. His skull felt about ready to tear apart from within, and he groaned with the pain, curling into the tight ball again.  
  
Claire tried to look into his eyes, but they were closed so tightly it seemed he never wanted to open them again.  
  
"Jesse, tell me what's wrong, please!" Claire demanded, and then stood from the floor. "Help!" she called.  
  
Jesse attempted to stand, but his legs wouldn't respond. He started to shake.  
  
"Sampson! Sampson!" Claire shouted, but received no reply.  
  
He felt her at his side again, mere moments before he succumbed completely into the darkness.  
  
* * *  
  
Claire shook Jesse, and pleaded with him to wake up, but to no avail.  
  
"Damn it!" she hissed, and looked around desperately, searching for something with which she could help him.  
  
Even if Jesse did irritate her a lot more now than he ever had, she still didn't want him to die.  
  
As she searched around for a cell phone, or a pager or anything else remotely useful, she recalled never having felt so hostile towards Jesse before. Like when she had slapped him, and ordered him around. she could never remember doing that before, never.  
  
What is going on with me lately? Her mind was a mess. She didn't know what to think.  
  
She just knew she needed help. 


	16. Uninvited, Yet At Hand

UNINVITED, YET AT HAND  
  
  
  
With a great echoing crash, the double doors flew inwards, shards of wood soaring through the air. The lock completely came away, and clattered to the floor, broken from the frame, useless.  
  
Five figures entered, proud in their entrance, and intent on their minds. Men rushed up to them to halt their entrance, but where only knocked casually aside, kicked and punched away by people of greater strength.  
  
Shalimar flashed her eyes briefly at the fallen men, and then, with a half-smile, carried on with the others.  
  
Emma stepped over one of the still forms, looking down at them only momentarily to see whether or not they were important. Just lackeys, she decided.  
  
With a straight face, Natasha followed the other two women, her mind clearly set on the rescue mission at hand. She cared not for the people lying face down on the floor. They were not her concern.  
  
Adam checked each of the people for any familiarities, and decided that he knew none of them. He carried on with the rest of his team, looking around hurriedly for any doorways besides the one clearly set before them. It seemed too obvious that that was the entrance.  
  
And finally, bringing up the rear, towering over the others, came Brennan, recovered enough to be on such a mission. He wanted to help, and having apologised for all he was worth, had been accepted. His face was as if set in stone, serious and determined.  
  
They burst through the second door, which hadn't in truth actually been locked at all. But still, Shalimar found some satisfaction in smashing it from its frame.  
  
They strode through confidently, knocking anyone who dared to cross their path aside like a rag doll, though they were careful not to harm any of them too much. They did not know whether or not these people had been altered as Brennan had.  
  
Shalimar, Natasha and Brennan opened all the doors they came to, peering inside.  
  
Finding nothing of importance inside of them, they closed the doors once more, moving swiftly on to the next door.  
  
Adam located a locked door, but halted Shalimar before the feral shattered it as she had the others. She stopped, her leg in the air, ready to kick, as Adam held up a hand, and gestured for them to carry on without him.  
  
"You sure, Adam?" Brennan queried, narrowing his eyes.  
  
Adam merely nodded, drawing an electronic device from his jacket pocket. He quickly held it up to the card-key lock at the side of the door, even as the others shuffled off.  
  
Within no time at all, the small blinking light switched from a dull red, to a bright, and welcome shade of green. The door clicked.  
  
Adam opened the door, ducking immediately as a gunshot filled the air.  
  
"Adam!" he heard Shalimar cry, and just as he heard her come running back down the hallway, he also heard that same gun click on empty.  
  
"It's alright! Keep going!" he called back, standing, and meeting the cold gaze of Eric Sampson.  
  
"I should have guessed you had something to do with this, Eric," Adam grumbled, closing the door again, and hearing it click as it locked once more. He raised an eyebrow at Eric, and shook his head.  
  
Eric Sampson laughed. He sounded a little nervous if anything. What had happened here? The door was almost blown to pieces from bullet holes. That explained why the gun ran on empty so fast, however.  
  
Adam moved across to face Sampson more closely, and his voice was quiet, yet full of disgust, "Why, Eric? What made you do it?"  
  
Again, Sampson laughed. "They're not like us, Adam. You know that as well as I do."  
  
"Yes, I do. But I also know that some of them are better than we can ever hope to be," Adam retorted, watching Eric place the empty gun on the desktop.  
  
The office was generously furnished with expensive antique furniture, made from the finest oak and leather. Colourful paintings filled the walls. Eric certainly had been busy since leaving Genomex, that was for certain.  
  
Sampson's laugh was more heartfelt this time, and much more confident. He shook his head vigorously. "Still so noble. Even after all you've done." He paused, staring boldly into Adam's eyes. "They're freaks, Adam, accidents. They were never meant to be. 'Children of Genomex'." He scoffed loudly, narrowing his eyes. "They're not doing anyone any good, so I thought I would just take them, and use them for myself."  
  
Adam punched Eric; even from his side of the desk the distance was reachable. Eric stumbled backwards, and looked back to Adam with a slightly surprised expression.  
  
"I'm impressed, Adam," he said, voice low. "But what right have you got to come in here and destroy what I have created?"  
  
"What you have created is harming more people than you even care about, Eric," Adam retorted angrily, "and it's time someone with some sense put a stop to that, and set these poor people free."  
  
"People?" He laughed again. "You're so deluded."  
  
Adam spotted a small object on the table, and retrieved it from the wooden surface, inspecting it cautiously, keeping a discreet eye on Eric.  
  
He shook his head. He knew very well what it was.  
  
Long ago, whilst under employment in Genomex, Eric Sampson had devised an internal Sub-dermal Governor, with a pain-inducing device, the one that Adam held now. Adam himself had devised a similar device, one that Mason Eckhart now had in his clutches. He hated himself for it, almost as much as he hated Eric Sampson.  
  
"How can you justify using this?" Adam asked, holding up the device.  
  
Eric shrugged. "Hey, it works. What do you expect me to do with it?" He smiled. "I think it messed up Kilmartin though."  
  
Without warning, or hesitation, Adam threw the device against the wall, watching with satisfaction as it shattered. Eric glared back at him after staring for a while at the broken pieces.  
  
Adam pushed the desk hard, slamming it against Sampson, who in turn, collided with the wall, partially trapped.  
  
He managed to wriggle out from behind the desk like the serpent that he really was, and lunged for Adam.  
  
Adam evaded the lunge, and followed it up with a kick to the back of Eric's legs, knocking the other man down.  
  
Shouting angrily, Eric stood, and punched at Adam clumsily.  
  
Eric Sampson never had been very good in this area. Adam supposed it could explain why he employed New Mutants.  
  
Adam punched Sampson hard in the face, causing the man to fall backwards.  
  
Shaking his head, Adam moved in for another attack.  
  
* * *  
  
"In here," Shalimar said quietly, pausing at a door, "I think I hear something."  
  
Sure enough, as the four team members concentrated on listening, they could clearly hear something that sounded like whimpering and pleading.  
  
"That sounds like Claire," Brennan noted, and moved to try the door. It was locked.  
  
"Stand back," he said, and pointed a finger towards the handle, allowing a strand of electricity to spark from his hand to the handle. They heard the lock click open, and Brennan swung the door from its frame.  
  
They saw Claire shoot into an upright position immediately, taking on a fighting stance. She was stood over an unconscious figure.  
  
"Jesse," Natty mumbled, and looked to Claire, as though she thought the woman was the one responsible.  
  
Brennan could see Claire had been crying. She was frightened, despite the procedure that had been carried out on them, almost erasing all fear.  
  
He moved towards her, holding out his hand.  
  
Claire stepped over Jesse protectively, one foot on either side of the fallen man. "Stay away from him," she growled.  
  
"We don't wanna hurt him," Brennan told her, "or you." His voice was soft, full of compassion.  
  
Claire shook her head. "You're lying. They've brainwashed you."  
  
Emma looked to Shalimar, who stood poised, ready to fight if need be. "Her mind is a mess. I can't tell one emotion from the other."  
  
Shalimar made momentary eye contact with Emma, giving her a response with her expression.  
  
As Brennan moved closer to Claire, the woman swung for him, and that was the moment when they realised just how weak she was. Her swing was slow, misguided, and Brennan had plenty of time to duck below it, and step aside from the next.  
  
He managed to grab her wrist gently on the next swing, and Claire resorted to pounding her other fist weakly against Brennan's chest.  
  
"No," she whimpered, and her knees buckled. Brennan wrapped his arms around her waist, keeping her from collapsing completely onto Jesse, who looked none too healthy.  
  
Claire cried out in pain then, and the others rushed forward to help Brennan lower her gently to the floor.  
  
Within no time at all, Claire, like Jesse, was completely unconscious.  
  
At that moment, Adam ran in, panting, as though he had run a long distance. He immediately came over to Brennan, who had his hand held to Claire's forehead.  
  
"She's burning up, Adam," Brennan said hurriedly, his concern clear.  
  
Adam quickly checked Jesse and Claire's pulses, and with a frown, he said, "We don't have much time. If we don't help them now, and get them back to Sanctuary immediately, we'll lose them."  
  
On that note, Brennan scooped Claire from the floor, holding her securely in his arms.  
  
Adam managed to heft Jesse over his shoulder, Shalimar walking behind him should he be unable to manage the weight.  
  
Emma and Natasha brought up the rear, looking back when they heard a pathetic male voice yell from the end of the corridor, "No, you have no right! Come back! Adam!"  
  
They raised an eyebrow each, and turned their heads back to the others, and their exit. 


	17. Highs And Lows

HIGHS AND LOWS  
  
  
  
"Damn it, Jesse, don't do this to me!" Adam yelled as the monitor continued to register flat line.  
  
Natty watched from the side of the room, her eyes wide in shock, a solitary tear rolling down her cheek. Shalimar was nearby for comfort, and Brennan stood beside his cousin, watching helplessly.  
  
Emma aided Adam, and tried to treat Claire, looking back in horror at the sound that filled the room.  
  
"Jesse!" Adam shouted in frustration at the figure lying on the table.  
  
Brennan moved over swiftly, and mumbled, "Stand back a minute."  
  
Adam did as he was told, a little reluctantly. Quickly though the realisation dominated his features, and he realised the elemental's intentions.  
  
Brennan took a deep breath in, silencing the noise in his mind, cutting it out from his concentration, and let the electricity ball form in his palm, before lowering it to Jesse's chest. He let the energy flow into Jesse, building it up gradually.  
  
"C'mon, c'mon," he muttered to himself, watching Jesse's face, and the monitor in turn.  
  
Suddenly, a pulse started to sound from the monitor, erratic, but still present.  
  
Brennan allowed himself a little smile, and stepped back, the smile fading instantly as he remembered that Jesse still wasn't completely out of the woods.  
  
"Adam," Emma called, alerting him to Claire's weakening condition.  
  
Adam rushed over, bringing a medical instrument of some kind along with him. He ran it over Claire, and cursed quietly. He injected something into her arm, and waited patiently for a few moments until Claire's vitals started to normalise slowly.  
  
"Yes," Adam mumbled happily, and ran a hand over Claire's damp hair as she lay on the bed, extremely pale.  
  
Brennan sighed in relief as Adam administered the same drug into Jesse's system, triggering an identical response.  
  
Adam looked up to the rest of his team, and let out a deep breath he probably didn't realise he had been holding in. "Now for the hard part," he said regretfully.  
  
Brennan leaned against the wall, standing beside his cousin, who still didn't seem to be able to relax. She knew as well as Brennan did that this wasn't going to be easy. The devices in their brains had to be deactivated carefully, so that they didn't trigger a shutdown in their systems, which would inevitably kill the two.  
  
Adam had managed with Brennan, the device having been activated for less time than Jesse and Claire's. True, Claire had been the last to undergo the procedure, but she had in total been under the control of it longer than Brennan.  
  
It was complicated, and it made Brennan's skull pound mercilessly.  
  
Adam looked up at the three figures standing against the wall, and he told them gently, "You don't have to stay in here. I'll call you when I'm finished."  
  
Reluctantly, Natty left the lab, followed by an equally reluctant Brennan. Shalimar hovered for a few moments, staring sadly at her two friends, and then into the soft, gentle eyes of Emma, who nodded.  
  
Shalimar smiled wanly, and left the lab.  
  
* * *  
  
A soft hum seemed to hover around Sanctuary, filling the three figures with a sense of content. The emergency was not yet over, but they trusted in Adam's skills. They knew that if anyone could help Jesse and Claire, it was him.  
  
Brennan looked into Natty's brown eyes, and he rubbed her back.  
  
She started softly, and then smiled at him.  
  
"They'll be okay," he told her sincerely.  
  
She nodded twice. "I hate this," she grumbled, staring down at the floor, her fingers knotted together nervously. "I hate it that everything's so dangerous now."  
  
"I know," Brennan agreed.  
  
Shalimar paced slowly, back and forth, looking ironically enough like a caged tiger, impatient.  
  
"You're making me dizzy, Shal'," Brennan teased lightly, looking up at the feral from where he sat.  
  
She looked down at him. "Sorry," she apologised, and took to standing still, not moving a muscle.  
  
I didn't mean it like that, Brennan thought with a smile at Shalimar.  
  
It would all be over soon.  
  
* * *  
  
"You did it, Adam," Emma congratulated, beaming happily, looking at the two patients.  
  
Adam allowed himself a triumphant smile. It had been anything but easy, that was for certain. He had had to be especially careful this time. Sampson had obviously seen this coming after Brennan's capture, and had started a shutdown sequence in Jesse and Claire, giving them less than twenty-four hours to live. They had gotten to them just in time.  
  
After deactivating the devices through a computer link, Adam had watched with intrigue as they had started to degrade immediately, designed to become absorbed into the body.  
  
They were going to be perfectly fine, given some time to rest that was.  
  
Adam looked up from his patients then, and smiled again. "I need to tell the others."  
  
With that, he strode from the lab.  
  
Emma was left behind, sighing in relief as she sensed the flow of controlled, regulated emotions from the two. There was no more confusion, no more of the jumble she had sensed before.  
  
It was a relief. 


	18. The Calm After The Storm

THE CALM AFTER THE STORM  
  
  
  
The lights were dim, softly illuminating the room. Candles sat on the surfaces of tables around the room, creating a soft glow that made the atmosphere that much more relaxing.  
  
The only thing that ruined the atmosphere was the explosion that erupted from the surround sound speakers frequently. The flashes from them on the screen lit up the faces of the two slouched figures on the couch, a bowl of popcorn overflowing between them, untouched.  
  
They weren't really focusing on the movie, or the popcorn for that matter, but on the events of the past few days. It had been unusual, and trying on the two of them. True, they were not the only two to be affected, but it seemed to have hit them harder.  
  
Jesse Kilmartin sat slouched into the soft cushions, his arms crossed loosely over his chest, face glum. His soft hair was tucked away from his eyes now, cleared from his vision. He felt warm and comfortable in his baggy sweater and jeans; glad to rid of the leather pants he had been wearing not so long ago.  
  
He sighed ever so softly, and cast a momentary glance at his companion. He looked back to the television screen regretfully, wishing to banish the memories of the past few days form his mind completely. He had done things he had never thought possible of himself, and he hated himself deeply for it. He had hurt the people closest to him.  
  
Claire Marlow sat at the other end of the couch, her feet up on the cushions, her legs curled up beside her cosily. She picked at her socks subconsciously as she recalled how she had treated the people she loved.  
  
The other hand fiddled slowly with a feathered strand of her blonde hair, and she stared at it for a while, watching it catch the glow of the candles, and reflecting it gracefully. She sighed.  
  
Claire didn't know how she could hope to begin winning back the trust of her closest friends. One of them was sat not three feet away now. She looked over with blue-green eyes, frowning. Her eyes travelled to her ring next, reactivated and back in its rightful place.  
  
Suddenly, Jesse looked across to her and blurted, "I'm sorry."  
  
She looked to him like a startled rabbit, and fumbled for a moment before saying, "Jesse, I'm the one who should be apologising. I acted like such a."  
  
She searched her mind for a word, and then continued, "Bitch. I was a bitch. I can't believe how I treated you. I acted as though you were nothing, and I hate myself for that."  
  
He smiled that sweet smile of his, and sat up a little straighter in the chair. "Are you kidding? I acted like a moron."  
  
At that moment, she moved across the couch, and hugged him tightly.  
  
He hugged her back; glad there were no hard feelings between them. Ever since Claire had joined Mutant X, the two had been fast friends. They had spent many an hour laughing and joking and training together.  
  
"Are we missing something?" came the mischievous voice of Shalimar as she and the others entered the recreation room.  
  
Claire and Jesse broke off from their hug, and realised they had managed to avoid spilling the bowl of popcorn, miraculously enough.  
  
They smiled at the others, rather weakly.  
  
Natty bounded into the room, her baggy training trousers a little out of place in the room. She ran right over to Jesse, and kissed him.  
  
"I'm so glad you're okay," she said excitedly, and latched her arms around him, seemingly unwilling to let go anytime soon.  
  
Jesse looked stunned at her behaviour, and he asked, "Aren't you mad at me?"  
  
Natty looked at him, and laughed. "How can I be mad at you? You weren't yourself, silly." She patted him on the shoulder playfully, and kissed him again.  
  
Shalimar smiled, looking to Emma. The two seated themselves on the second couch, taking the bowl of popcorn with them. They soon turned their attention to the screen, immediately attracted by the loud noises and flashing lights.  
  
Jesse grinned like an idiot, as Natty snuggled up to him, taking up the middle of the couch, drawing her feet up on the sofa too, her head rested on Jesse's shoulder.  
  
Claire watched the two happily, and jumped slightly when she felt the hand wrap around hers, taking it away from her hair.  
  
She looked up into the loving eyes of Brennan, just before he kissed the top of her head gently.  
  
Her brow furrowed, shortly before Brennan motioned for her to stand. She did so obediently, and watched as Brennan sat in her seat.  
  
Looking back down at him, she wondered if this was her punishment for the way she had acted lately.  
  
But then Brennan patted his lap, inviting her to sit on it.  
  
She smiled happily, and took her place on his lap, leaning back comfortably on his chest.  
  
They conversed for a while, seated comfortably in the wanly lit room. Apologies were exchanged, and accepted gladly, laughter following as popcorn was thrown playfully across the room. Of course, the buttery snack was launched back in the direction it had come from, in retaliation.  
  
After a while though, the popcorn-fight died down, and their attention returned to the television once more.  
  
"So, what're we watching?" Emma asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
Jesse laughed, as though her lack of knowledge amused him. "It's Independence Day. You can't tell me you haven't seen this movie."  
  
Emma looked to him with blue eyes and shrugged.  
  
Rolling his eyes, Jesse settled back comfortably with Natasha.  
  
The conversation died right down at that point, all concentration on the movie, minds floating away from the incident that had most recently threatened their team.  
  
Once again though, they had triumphed over the odds, showing just how strong they really were at heart. Nothing could tear them apart. Eckhart hadn't managed it yet, so what hope had Eric Sampson really had?  
  
One thing was for sure; they knew they wouldn't be hearing from him again any time soon. Adam had seen to that.  
  
Adam cared for them like a father, and they loved him dearly for all he had ever done for them. He had given them hope, a place to live, and more importantly, a purpose.  
  
Everything was as it should be again.  
  
* * *  
  
Watching from the doorway, leaned against the frame, and smiling happily, Adam sighed contently.  
  
He knew he was lucky. He had amazing people with unique, amazing talents who would do anything for him. Adam had no idea why he even deserved such loyalty.  
  
But he knew one thing.  
  
He would do anything to protect his family. 


End file.
